An edition of In retrospect (1995)

In retrospect

the tragedy and lessons of Vietnam

1st ed.
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Last edited by MARC Bot
July 16, 2024 | History
An edition of In retrospect (1995)

In retrospect

the tragedy and lessons of Vietnam

1st ed.
  • 0 Ratings
  • 28 Want to read
  • 2 Currently reading
  • 1 Have read

Robert S. McNamara, the brilliant secretary of defense for Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, helped lead America into Vietnam. McNamara believed that the fight against communism in Asia was worth the sacrifice of American lives, and yet he eventually came to believe that the war was, in fact, unwinnable. Outnumbered by those who wanted to continue fighting, he left the Johnson administration and his involvement in Vietnam behind.

He refused any public comment on the war, and for almost three decades he has kept that silence - until now.

Drawing on his personal experience and a wealth of documentation - much of it only recently declassified and some presented here for the first time ever - McNamara has crafted the classic insider account of Vietnam policy making. He reveals exactly how we stumbled into the war, and exactly why it quickly became so difficult to pull out. We meet John F. Kennedy, and McNamara discloses what he believes Kennedy would have done in Vietnam had he lived. We get to know Lyndon B.

Johnson, and see exactly how the war tore him apart and damaged his entire presidency. We sit in on secret meetings, we read private cables, and we hear the voices and arguments of the men who battled over America's Vietnam policy. McNamara takes us into the Oval Office for late-night discussions with the president, into the halls of the Pentagon as military strategy is argued, and into the chambers of Congress as policy is debated. He also reveals his own inner torment as the war effort becomes increasingly frustrating, and then utterly disastrous.

The result is a book that is not only history of the highest order, but a revealing portrait of the trials of leadership.

Publish Date
Publisher
Times Books, Crown
Language
English
Pages
414

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Previews available in: English

Edition Availability
Cover of: Avec le recul
Avec le recul
January 1, 1998, Seuil
Paperback in French
Cover of: Zhan zhi zui
Zhan zhi zui: Mainamala Yue zhan hui gu
1996, Zhi ku wen hua, Zong jing xiao Zhen de tu shu shi ye you xian gong si
in Chinese - Di 1 ban
Cover of: In retrospect
In retrospect: the tragedy and lessons of Vietnam
1996, Vintage Books
in English - 1st ed.
Cover of: In retrospect
In retrospect: the tragedy and lessons of Vietnam
1995, Times Books, Crown
in English - 1st ed.
Cover of: In retrospect
In retrospect: the tragedy and lessons of Vietnam
1995, Times Books, Random House - Times Books
in English
Cover of: Hsoi ký Robert S. McNamara

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Book Details


Edition Notes

Maps on lining papers. Includes bibliographical references (p. [381]-385) and index.

6

Published in
New York

Classifications

Dewey Decimal Class
959.704/3373
Library of Congress
DS558 .M44 1995, DS558 .M44 1996, DS558.M44 1995

The Physical Object

Pagination
xviii, 414 p. :
Number of pages
414

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL1114144M
Internet Archive
inretrospecttrag00mcna
ISBN 10
0812925238
LCCN
94040088, 96218898
OCLC/WorldCat
31375622
Library Thing
90114
Goodreads
1389421

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